Once， when I was a teenager， my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally， there was only one family between us and the ticket counter.
This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children， all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn"t have a lot of money.
Their clothes were not expensive， but they were clean. The children were well-behaved， all of them standing in line， two-by-two behind their parents， holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns， elephants， and other acts they would see that night.
One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack， standing proud as could be.
The mother was holding her husband"s hand， looking up at him as if to say， "You"re my knight in shining armor."
He was smiling and basking in pride， looking back at her as if to reply， "You got that right."
The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded， "Please let me buy eight children"s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus."
The ticket lady quoted the price. The man"s wife let go of his hand， her head dropped， and his lip began to quiver. The father leaned a little closer and asked， "How much did you say?"
The ticket lady again quoted the price. The man didn"t have enough money.
How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn‘t have enough money to take them to the circus? Seeing what was going on， my dad put his hand in his pocket， pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!)
有一次，当我还是个少年的时候，我和父亲都站在排队买票去买了马戏团的票。最后，我们之间只有一个家庭和售票柜台。
这个家庭给我留下了很大的印象。有八个孩子，都可能在12岁以下。你可以告诉他们没有很多钱。
他们的衣服并不贵，但他们很干净。孩子们表现得很好，所有的孩子都站在他们的父母后面，双手抱着。他们兴奋地叽叽喳喳的小丑，大象，和其他行为他们会看到那个晚上。
人们可以感觉到他们从未到过马戏团。它承诺是他们年轻人生活中的一个亮点。父亲和母亲都在包的头上，站得很骄傲。
母亲抱着丈夫的手，抬头望着他，好像要说：“你是我的骑士，穿着闪亮的盔甲。”
他笑了，感到很自豪，看着她好像说，“你说对了。”
售票员问父亲他想要多少票。他自豪地回答说：“请让我买八张儿童票和2张成人票，这样我就可以带我的家人去马戏团了。”
机票女士报了价。男人的妻子放开了他的手，她的头掉了，嘴唇开始颤抖起来。父亲向他靠近一点，问道：“你说了多少？”
票女士再次报价。这个人没有足够的钱。
他怎么会告诉他八个孩子，他没有足够的钱带他们去马戏团？看到这一切，我父亲把手伸进口袋，掏出一张20美元的账单扔在了地上。（我们在任何意义上都不富有！）
